Following months of campaigning by the RHA, the Longer Semi-Trailer trial has now been extended until the 29th February 2024.
Declan Pang, RHA Director of Policy and Public Affairs for England, said: “We’ve been campaigning for some time for the Department for Transport to reduce new the bureaucracy on hauliers using longer semi-trailers to encourage uptake.
“We welcome this extra time to work with our members and government on solutions, and for changes to the guidance to reduce onerous administration.”
Richard James Smith, Managing Director at RHA, the announcement follows months of campaigning. The trial had been due to end on the 30th of November.
Richard James Smith, Managing Director at RHA, said: “New requirements for route plans and risk assessments were due to come in from 30 November despite not being required during 12-year LST trial, said Smith, who added: “Some RHA members are already parking up their LSTs as these processes are creating inefficiencies and driving up costs.”
Smith also emphasised that there had been years of “rigorous” trials which have proven that “LSTs are safe to be on our roads”.
Encouraging uptake of these vehicles is good for the environment with fewer journeys and less congestion, so it makes no sense to discourage their use.
The RHA confirmed that there have been years of rigorous trials which have proven that LSTs are safe to be on our roads. Following the LST guidance published in May, they have been urging DfT to reduce the requirements for route plans and risk assessments that were due to come in from 30 November despite not being required during the 12-year LST trial.
There are options being considered by some operators including tracking providers and driver apps to link a pickup location with a route plan and risk assessment to facilitate a simpler solution, but this will not be ready in time for 30 November.
